Russia's awkward spats with key allies leave Putin red-faced

Recent weeks have seen several high-profile spats between Russia and its key backers of the disastrous war on Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin digs in to try to outlast Kyiv and its democratic partners.

Since mid-July, the Chinese Embassy in Moscow has condemned "brutal and excessive law enforcement by Russia" after several of its citizens were detained at a border crossing. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Moscow's ambassador over a Russian-endorsed statement it said threatened Middle Eastern stability. And North Korean-aligned hackers have been accused of breaching computer networks belonging to a major Russian missile developer.

The incidents come at a sensitive time for the Kremlin. Its battered forces in Ukraine are fighting against Kyiv's long-awaited counteroffensive, Ukraine and its Western partners are looking to leverage Russia's renewed Black Sea blockade for more support in the so-called Global South, and nearly 40 nations—among them China—recently met in Saudi Arabia to discuss Kyiv's proposed peace plan.